Back in 2014, I answered Jeff Rients’ 20 questions. (I had forgotten that I had already answered them in 2012.) Here are my answers to Jez Gordon’s 21 questions.

Why were settlements founded here? Along the river systems, connecting some rich region in the west with some other region in the north.

What are the local funeral customs? People are buried except for elves. Elves are burned because a special elf fungus will grow out of their dead corpses, giving off a strange light, make otherworldly music when the moon shines, possess animals and drive people mad. Unburied dead will usually give rise to ghosts who try to possess or curse people nearby. At first, they’ll try to get a decent burial. Later, however, they’ll try to actively hurt and kill.

How do neighbouring settlements communicate with one another? There is trade along the river and on roads financed by player characters.

How dramatically does your campaign location change from season to season? Not at all. I have trouble remembering snow in winter.

What are the three biggest local celebrations each year? Haven’t thought about it.

Where is the safest place for someone to stash a considerable sum of coins and treasure? Generally speaking, in town is “safe”.

What is the local standard of medical technology in replacing missing bits and body pieces? The streets are full of victims of the Death & Dismemberment table. People have lost countless arms and legs to the dungeons. If you lost a leg, you can have a wooden peg and suffer no other penalty but the inability to run and to move silently. If you lost an arm, you can have a hook and suffer no other penalty but the inability to wield a shield. Captain Hook is my role model.

What are some local superstitions? No idea.

What is the scariest local myth? No idea.

Who collects tribute and taxes for the powers that be? No idea. Taxes are not important in my game.

What are the best places to get a drink round here? No idea. A handful of establishments are mentioned on the campaign wiki page for the local settlement but drinking and carousing is not important in my game.

Where can you buy animals round here? The humans sell war dogs for 25gp. The dwarves train bears to be war bears. The bears they get from a druid who stopped delivering them. We haven’t investigated. The bears used to cost 500gp. The lizard men used to train war raptors. We got some as a gift and they’re still breeding. They are no longer available because we killed all the lizard men when their relations with the dwarves took a dive.

What is the local settlement missing? No idea.

What is the local mascot of the town or region? No idea.

Where’s the best place to pick up a few hired hands? The town provides an endless supply of surplus kids, desperate to make some money. Also, amateur spies are available for 200gp per job.

What’s the local take on the end of the world? No idea.

Is there a local hedge wizard, witch, or shaman of no great power but one who cares for the locals and helps deal with their tribulations? No. Sascha is the local big priest, a former player character. The temple of the local elementalist schools is perhaps the most useless with magic-users around level two and three.

What games do the locals like to play? No idea.

What crimes are punishable by death? Bandits are hanged by the Lady Kyle, the local noble woman. Recently the players saw that a bunch of dwarves was able to buy their freedom even though all the human bandits would hang. Food for thought.

Have any great disasters destroyed local settlements? Laketown was destroyed by froglings in recent years. The survivors fled, or were captured by the froglines to serve them in their swamp temple. As no other settlement was built near the swamp or lake, nobody else fears them.

Where can you find maps of the region? The campaign wiki has the in-game knowledge of the area. I keep adding to the map as the players explore.

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